Days of our Haiden
Season 1: Episode 21
Chase would be staying at Joey's so everything was going according to plan for Ciara. Little did she know that Aiden had a plan of his own that was also going according to plan.
Aiden looked in the mirror of the used car that he had just gotten. Business was doing well. Things were finally starting to pick up moneywise, and he was finally able to afford is own car. It was just a used 2014 blue Taurus but the mileage was good and it got him around. He still wouldn't consider himself rich, but he was getting back to the point where he could live comfortably.
He looked at the dashboard clock. It was time to meet Lani. He headed into the restaurant, and was happy when she walked in no more than thirty seconds after he did.
"Good evening, Miss Lani! You're looking quite beautiful tonight!" He took her hand and kissed it. "As usual."
Lani smirked. "Good thing you added the as usual. And thank you. You're looking particularly handsome tonight as well."
They grinned at each other.
Lani was wearing a sparkly low cut red dress with sparkly red heels. Aiden was wearing a pair of khakis with a white shirt, black blazer, and red silk tie. He wore black dress shoes. He had texted her to see what color she was wearing so that they could color coordinate. He knew it just might annoy Hope and therefore tick her off even more.
Aiden gave their name to the hostess and they were seated at a nice table for two.
Shortly after, in walked Hope and Rafe. Aiden noticed how she looked amazing in a tight black leather dress. He felt jealousy course through his veins at the thought of Rafe being with her tonight. Seeing Rafe's over Hope's lower back made Aiden want to punch him in the face. Rafe was wearing a black and white suit like a groom would wear to a wedding. That made Aiden want to punch him even harder.
Rafe gave their names to the hostess—at least, that's what it looked like to Aiden.
Aiden watched them until Hope seemed to sense that he was watching them.
Their eyes met.
*This love came back to me.*
Hope couldn't believe it when she saw Aiden and Lani sitting together at a comfy looking table for two. "What are they doing here of all places? And what are they doing together?" Hope muttered to herself.
"Hm?" Rafe asked, overhearing her.
Hope pulled him close. "Aiden's here with Lani right over there."
"Where?" Rafe asked. He looked around and spotted Lani and Rafe sitting together and smiling at each other.
"What the hell?" he asked. "Since when are those two together? Do they even know each other?"
Hope nodded. "They ran into each other a couple times for work related things, but that's about it."
"Do you want to go someplace else?" Rafe asked her.
Hope shook her head. "No. Ciara made our reservation for here. I wouldn't want to make her feel bad by us eating somewhere else. There's no reason you and I can't still enjoy our dinner!" She smiled up at Rafe and took his hand in her own.
Rafe grinned at her. "You're absolutely right." He kissed her sweetly on the lips.
"All right! Right this way," the hostess said cheerily.
They followed the hostess while still holding hands. She led them to a table for two only about three feet away from Aiden and Lani's table, and directly across from them.
"Oh, hey! Funny bumping into you guys here," Lani said when they walked by their table.
"Hey," Rafe said to her. He ignored Aiden completely. "Why are you here with him?" He nodded at Aiden without looking at him.
"Hello to you too, Rafe," Aiden said sarcastically.
"We're here on a date. Since you didn't want me, I decided to try someone new. I bumped into Aiden at TBD the other day. We got go talking, and he asked me out," Lani said with a smile.
Aiden and Hope didn't even acknowledge each other.
"Not that it's any of your business," Aiden said to Rafe.
"You know what? You can shove it!" Rafe said to Aiden.
"Just go back to your date," Aiden snapped.
"You're right. I think I will go back to my fiancé," Rafe said.
Aiden had a pained look on his face.
Rafe smiled smugly at him. "That's right. She and I are celebrating our engagement tonight. I guess your kisses weren't enough for her to come running back to you. Sorry about that," Rafe said, his voice full of mockery and sarcasm. He turned to "Lani. I'd watch out if I were you. You can do so much better than this loser. Just make sure he doesn't try to kill you too!" Rafe then went back to his table, where Hope was already waiting for him and looking really uncomfortable.
"Great! Just great," Hope said as Rafe helped her get her jacket off.
"We can ask to sit somewhere else," Rafe said to her.
"No, it's fine. As far as I'm concerned, they aren't even here," Hope replied.
"Are you sure?" Rafe asked.
Hope nodded. "I'm sure. Let's just enjoy our dinner and pretend they aren't even here."
"Sounds good." Rafe hung up her jacket on the back on her chair, then held out her chair for her and gently pushed her in after she sat down in it.
He then took his own seat.
"Your server will be right over," the hostess said kindly.
Rafe and Hope thanked her, then she went off to seat the next guests.
They looked over their menus.
"We have to order a bottle of the finest Champaign to celebrate our engagement," Rafe said to her.
Hope smiled. "Of course!"
Lani laughed, and they both looked over.
Aiden was grinning as Lani reached across the table and put her hand on his arm.
"You're hilarious!" Lani said.
"I'm glad I could make you laugh," Aiden told her. "You have a beautiful laugh."
Lani smiled a shy smile and looked away.
"She can do better than Aiden. I hope she knows to be careful. I don't want what happened to you happen to her," Rafe grumbled.
Hope shook her head. "I doubt he's a threat. He's not that man anymore. However, I am annoyed that Lani sure seems to have a thing for my men."
Rafe raised an eyebrow at her. "First of all, I still think he is still the same man he always was. Second, what do you mean by 'another one of your men'? Aiden isn't your man anymore."
Hope blushed, and gently pushed some hair behind her ear. "True. I just mean I dated him and married him in the past. Now she wants him probably just because I had him."
Rafe scrunched his eyebrows together. "Please! You were only married to Aiden for a couple of hours before he tried to kill you. I don't really count that as being married to him."
Hope looked away. She hated remembering that night.
Rafe gently took her hand from across the table. "Hey. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that night up. Let's just concentrate on you, me, tonight, and celebrating our engagement!"
Hope smiled at him. "Sounds good to me!"
Their waiter came then, and they ordered their Champaign, then went back to looking over their menus and deciding what they wanted to eat.
*This love came back to me.*
"Mm… So good!" Lani said as she took a bite of Aiden's parmesan chicken that he was feeding to her. She licked her lips, then held out a forkful of lasagna to him. "Try mine."
Aiden let her feed him. "Mm… Delicious!" he said.
"You don't think this is too much?" Lani asked through clenched teeth just loud enough for Aiden to hear her.
"Nope! I can see through my peripheral view that they're staring at us," Aiden said just loud enough for Lani to hear and also through clenched teeth. So far the classic pretending the other said something funny and the "pretend flirting" seemed to be doing the trick. "I know it's bugging them both." Aiden said.
Lani grinned, still keeping up looks. "I just hope it's enough. I mean, the plan sounded good at first, but now that we're doing it I suddenly feel so juvenile—like I'm back in high school again."
"It will work I promise!" Aiden assured her. Though, deep down he secretly felt the same way she did. Even so, he refused to give up. After all, he didn't exactly have a plan B unless he went with the whole Chase faking an illness thing. "Anyway, I have another trick up my sleeve. I requested that they play mine and Hope's song. Once she sees you and me dancing to it, she'll be livid." At least, he hoped she would be.
"They just happened to have your song?" Lani asked.
"I dropped off the CD earlier on my way to my community service," Aiden told her with a smile and a wink.
Lani grinned. "You really did think of everything, didn't you?"
Aiden grinned even wider in response.
*This love came back to me.*
"I wanna smack that smug smirk right of his face!" Rafe grumbled. He and Hope were both looking at Aiden and Lani as they smiled at each other.
"I wonder what they're talking about. They are talking so low," Hope said more to herself than to Rafe. "And why were they feeding each other? I'd say that's a bit forward for a first date. At least, in my opinion."
Rafe looked away. "Watching them is ruining my night. Let's just go back to concentrating on you, me, and our engagement. What do you say?" Rafe asked reaching across the table and placing his hands over hers.
Hope smiled at him. "Okay, sounds good." Even so, she couldn't help but feel a little twinge of annoyance at Lani mixed with the uncomfortable feeling of seeing Aiden on a date with another woman.
After they finished their meal, their waiter came over to clear their plates. "Would you two like any dessert?" he asked.
Hope nodded. "I can't come here without having a slice of Maggie's chocolate cake!"
"We can just split a slice," Rafe told her.
Hope shook her head. "Sorry, but when it comes to Maggie's chocolate cake, I'd like my own."
Rafe laughed. "All right. Make that two slices of chocolate cake then, please!" he said to the waiter.
"Coming right up!" the waiter said.
Aiden and Lani were also ordering dessert, Hope noticed as she side glanced at their table. Their waitress took their order then left.
Suddenly, Hope heard hers and Aiden's song playing over the speakers. She shivered as she remembered how she and Aiden had danced to it at the gala that they had fallen in love at, and then later on their first anniversary of that date. She remembered the romantic night Aiden had planned for her on their anniversary. She blushed as she remembered making love with him that night, and then again the next morning. Then showering with him after breakfast…
"How sweet!" Rafe said sarcastically, distracting her from her memories. "Now they're dancing together."
Hope looked over to see Aiden dancing close with Lani, his hands over her lower back, and her arms draped over his shoulders. She felt her blood start to boil. How dare he dance with Lani to their song? Well, two could play at that game!
She stood up and extended her hand to Rafe. "Come on. Let's dance."
Rafe looked at her hand with hesitation, then stood up. "All right. I'm not that great of a dancer, but I'm up for trying!"
Hope took his hand and practically dragged him out to the dancefloor right near Aiden and Lani.
"Woah, slow down! The music is non-stop here. We have plenty of time," Rafe teased.
Hope draped her arms over his shoulders. "Sorry. I'm just so eager to dance with my husband-to-be!"
Rafe grinned. "And I do love dancing with my wife-to-be!"
Hope noticed Aiden glancing at her and Rafe. As soon as he noticed she had noticed him, he turned his attention back to Lani.
Aiden and Lani swayed back and forth together, their eyes locked. They looked in love.
Hope gently stroked Rafe's cheek, then buried her face in his neck and rested her head on his shoulder while they danced.
Aiden watched Hope with Rafe and he wanted to throttle Rafe. He inched Lani over toward them and accidentally on purpose bumped into them, causing Hope to look up and over at them.
"Sorry. I lost my balance for a second there," Aiden said.
"I bet!" Rafe said; not buying it.
Hope and Aiden's eyes met as they continued to dance with their partners. Their eyes stayed on each other's for the rest of the song.
When the song ended, Rafe kissed Hope passionately on the lips. Hope, knowing Aiden was watching, kissed Rafe back just as passionately.
*This love came back to me.*
Aiden was debating on whether or not he should kiss Lani. He didn't want to tick her off. However, Lani surprised him by making his decision for him and kissing him passionately on the lips as well.
Aiden broke the kiss, looking at Lani in surprise.
Lani leaned close to him and whispered in his ear, "Just go with it."
Aiden, grateful, pulled her close, and kissed her passionately back.
*This love came back to me.*
As Hope watched Aiden and Lani kiss, she was absolutely furious! She almost said something, but Rafe took her hand before she could.
"Cake is here," Rafe said to her, nodding toward their table.
Hope nodded, not trusting herself to speak yet.
They all headed back to their tables where dessert was waiting for them all.
"She only wants him because I used to date him. I bet if Bo were still alive, she'd go after him too!" Hope muttered. She stabbed her cake and forced the bite into her mouth before chewing angrily.
"Who cares if she dates him? You don't want him anymore." Rafe ate a bite of his cake. "The only reason I don't like it is because Aiden will only end up hurting her. I don't want to see her get hurt. She doesn't deserve to be."
"Yeah, well, neither does Aiden. She's just using him." Hope angrily ate another bite of her cake, barely tasting it.
"More like he's using her," Rafe grumbled.
They ate their slices of cake in silence for a moment.
Hope watched as Aiden and Lani, smiling at each other as if they had been in love forever, took turns feeding each other the chocolate cake slice they were sharing. It made her sick!
Lani accidentally got a piece of cake on Aiden's nose. She flicked it off and it ended up hitting the back of a bald waiter's head. Lani and Aiden quickly played it cool, acting as if they were just a normal couple deep in conversation as the waiter looked around to try to spot who had done it. Once the waiter had looked away again and had gone back to what he was doing, Aiden and Lani snickered together.
Hope rolled her eyes.
"Have you been listening to anything I've just been saying to you?" Rafe asked her.
Hope looked at him, blinking in confusion. "I'm sorry what?"
"You know what? Never mind. I can see you're too occupied with other things to listen," Rafe said a little annoyed.
"I'm sorry," Hope said, not knowing what else to say.
The waiter came with their check.
Hope noticed Rafe had eaten all of his cake, but she had barely eaten any of hers. She quickly finished her cake, side-eyeing Aiden and Lani's table. Aiden was paying his and Lani's bill.
"Can I get you anything else?" their waiter asked.
"No thanks. Here you go. Keep the change," Rafe said, paying with the cash Ciara had given him earlier for their meal and tip. She had insisted on paying for their dinner as her engagement present to them.
"Thank you, Sir. You two have a good rest of your night!" the waiter said with a polite nod.
Hope and Rafe thanked him and wished him a good night as well, then he left.
Rafe didn't bother to help Hope with her coat. However, Hope noticed Aiden helping Lani with her jacket.
Hope put on her own jacket feeling rejected all around.
"All set!" Aiden said once Lani's coat was on.
"Thank you! Also thank you for dinner," Lani said, batting her eyelashes at him and smiling. Aiden smiled at her, then took her hand and kissed it. "The pleasure was mine."
Lani giggled.
They started walking toward the door, but stopped halfway between their tables.
"Wait. Would you like to come back with me for a nightcap?" Aiden asked Lani.
Lani grinned. "I would love that so much, but I promised Theo I'd spend some time with him tonight. Can we raincheck it for tomorrow night instead?" Lani stopped and said seductively by his ear, but still loud enough for Hope to hear, "I'll have all night then."
Aiden shivered. "Sounds like a plan."
Hope couldn't take it any longer. She jumped up from the table, and closed in the space between them. She turned to Lani. "He made out with me the other night, you know."
Lani looked at her with surprise. "Excuse me?"
Hope nodded. "That's right! He was all over me. He wanted to make love to me, but I stopped it since I'm in love with another man."
"And you're telling me this why?" Lani asked, an eyebrow raised and her arms crossed over her chest.
"I just think you should know that he's still madly in love with me and is only settling for you because he can't have me." Hope crossed her arms over her chest, and raised an eyebrow of her own.
Aiden looked at Lani, his eyes wide. "That's so not true! Well, it's true I made out with her, and that I wanted it to go further, but it's not true that I'm only settling for you. You're a beautiful, funny, and intelligent woman. I really wanted to go on this date with you tonight, and I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would." He turned to Hope. "You made it perfectly clear to me that you want nothing to do with me anymore, Hope. So please, just let me move on in peace without you interfering!" he snapped.
Hope narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine! Be on your way then. Just beware that she's using you Aiden. She only wants you because I had you. First it was Rafe, and now it's you." She glared at Lani, her arms still crossed over her chest. "She's a real piece of work!"
Lani sighed. "Hope, you're being ridiculous! It's just like I told you earlier. We happened to run into each other at TBD, we talked, realized we had a lot in common, and decided to go out on a date. I was barely even aware than he used to date you."
"Right," Hope said sarcastically, not believing word that came out of her mouth. "Or that we were married right?"
Rafe gently took Hope's arm before Lani or Aiden could respond. He looked at Lani. "You take care of yourself, and watch out for him. All right? I don't want to see you getting hurt." He looked at Aiden. "And you! If you hurt her, I will hunt you down and you will answer to me."
Aiden smirked smugly at him. "I would never hurt her for one. For two, you don't scare me, Rafe."
"Then you're even more of a fool than I thought you were," Rafe said even smugger back.
Aiden ignored Rafe and turned to Hope. "You meant it when you said you didn't want me, right?"
Hope looked at him, trying not to tear-up. She nodded. "Yes." She latched onto Rafe's arm. "I did."
"Aiden, I better get home now. Theo hates when I keep him waiting. But I shall see you tomorrow night after work, all right?" Lani asked, looking into Aiden's eyes.
Aiden nodded.
Lani then kissed him softly on the lips.
Aiden returned her kiss.
"I really had fun tonight. Thank you," Lani purred.
"So did I. And thank you! Goodnight," Aiden said to her.
Lani smiled. She gave his cheek a kiss. "Goodnight." She nodded at Hope and Rafe. "Hope, Rafe, goodnight."
"Goodnight!" Rafe said.
Hope ignored her, and instead chose to shoot mental daggers with her eyes at Lani until Lani had officially left the restaurant.
"Let's go," Rafe said quietly to Hope.
Hope left, but looked longingly at Aiden, who was watching her with longing as well.
Hope sighed. What a mess she had gotten herself into she knew.
Rafe helped Hope into the car, then shut her door and headed around to the driver's side and got in.
Hope couldn't help but think about Aiden again, dancing with Lani to their song. She thought of him laughing with Lani, feeding and being fed by her, and him kissing her. She felt angry, sad, and sick all in one.
"Hope, you're doing it again," Rafe said.
"Hm?" Hope looked over at Rafe. "Doing what?"
"You're not listening to me when I'm talking to you," he told her.
"Not true! I am," she insisted.
"Then what did I just say to you?" Rafe tested her.
Hope hesitated. She tried to think about what Rafe could have said to her, but all she could think of was making love with Aiden Valentine's Day night. She sighed, and looked at Rafe again. "I'm sorry, Rafe. I can't concentrate tonight. I don't know if it's something I ate or what, but I'm suddenly not feeling well. I'm wiped out too. I think I just want to go to bed alone tonight and try to sleep off whatever this is. Do you mind if we take a raincheck on our night together?"
Rafe looked disappointed, but nodded. "Sure. Do you want me to get you anything first? Some stomach medicine or antacids before I drop you home?"
Hope shook her head. "I love you for asking, and thank you, but I have it all at home."
"All right then." Rafe then drove Hope the short distance home.
"I'll make it up to you. I'm just so out of it all the sudden. I hope it wasn't anything I ate, or the flu or anything," Hope said.
"You'll have to go see Kayla if you still feel sick tomorrow," Rafe told her.
Hope nodded. "I will."
"Do you want me to walk you in?" Rafe asked her.
Hope shook her head. "That's okay. I can at least do that!" She smiled and winked at him. She then kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Thank you for understanding."
"Of course! Feel better, and when she's back, thank Ciara again for everything!" Rafe said. He gently stroked her cheek.
"I will. Goodnight," Hope replied.
"Goodnight. I'll call you in the morning," Rafe said.
They kissed once more, then Hope got out of the car, shut the door, and then headed into the house. She watched out the window as Rafe pulled out of the driveway and left for his home.
*This love came back to me.*
Aiden, meanwhile, was sitting on his bed in his apartment, wearing the usual bed attire of boxers and a tee shirt. Sad and depressed, he buried his face in his hands. He honestly didn't know what to think about how the plan had gone. At some points in the date, it really seemed to be working. However, Hope had still insisted she didn't want him. She hadn't even stuck up for him when Rafe had called him foolish, yet she had been quick to defend Rafe before when Aiden had accused Rafe of filling her head with lies. Maybe it really was over.
He got a text alert. He looked down at it. It was from Lani.
Looks like our date went great! Did you see and hear how jealous Rafe was when he warned you not to hurt me? He so wants me! Hope was obviously really jealous too the way she went off on you. We got to keep this up. It's totally working!
Aiden texted her back.
Yes! He certainly was jealous. We'll definitely have to do this again soon. Thanks for all the help. –A
With a sigh, Aiden then turned his phone off, and set it on the bedside stand. Honestly, he didn't know if keeping it up would work or not. He would continue to date Lani for a little bit more, but if it still didn't work, he didn't know what else he could do to win Hope back. He supposed he could ride in on a motorcycle to crash hers and Rafe's wedding, but it had already been done by Bo. Besides, he had no idea how to drive a motorcycle. He figured with his luck he'd just end up flying off it and breaking his neck!
Suddenly, Aiden heard a knock on his door. Wondering who it could be at this hour, get got up and headed to the door. Maybe Chase had decided to sleep there instead of Joey's and had forgotten his key, Aiden guessed.
He peered out the peephole and was surprised to see Hope standing on the other side of the door.
"Hope?" he asked quietly to the empty room. What the heck is she doing here? he wondered. Was she there to snap at him about the date, or was she here because maybe his plan had worked after all? He unlocked the door and began to open it. He guessed he was about to find out!